Perpich Arts High School Music Department Presents: 24/25 Sound Works II

December 23, 2024

The Music Department of Perpich Arts High School presented the second concert of the year on Thursday, December 19th with a repeat performance on Friday, December 20th. The concert was a culmination of the work created by students in their small ensembles during the second quarter – both covers of songs and original works created within each ensemble. Congratulations to all the music students and their instructors on an incredible performance!

Prior to the performance, we spent time with the ensemble “Nomansland” including members Jesse Sullivan (Music 2026), Sylvia Dieken (Music 2025), Audrey Flug (Music 2025), Ryan Christiansen (Music 2025), and Mie Morimoto (Music 2026).

Perpich – What can you tell us about your ensemble?
Sullivan – “I think we all have an interest in a certain type of music that some ensembles don’t really like. I feel like a lot of ensembles are very, I don’t know, they always have a drummer and there’s always a lot of rock going on, which is a lot of fun and in this ensemble, we kind of all have in common that we really like indie music.”

Dieken – “We basically focus on lots of the vocals and the lyricism, I think, in our set. And harmonies. That’s really cool.
And I think also the five of us also have pretty similar music taste, which is always fun, and I think we’re able to agree on things fairly easily.”

Morimoto – “But we also had some challenges because, for instance, we don’t have a drummer in this ensemble. So we had to really figure out how to accommodate and make this work, because some of the indie music, it would be really good with drums. A lot of us also play similar instruments, too. So that was another challenge.”

Dieken – “Four of us play piano as one of our main instruments.”

Christiansen – “Four of us play guitar.”

Morimoto – “And four of us want to do vocals.”

Perpich – Are you able to mimic or supplement a rhythm section with a guitar and piano?
Dieken – “The harmonic rhythm instruments became more of the drum and fulfilled that role. And then we had to use the metronome and stuff to make sure you’re on time because if you have a drummer, you don’t really have to do that.”

Perpich – Halfway through senior year; how do we feel about what we’ve done so far and what we have left?
Dieken – “Good. I’m going to music college [NYU], so I’m just excited for more of this.”

Flug – “It feels really good to have a year of experience and then come back. It just feels really different in senior year and it’s good because you kind of know what to do and what will work and how to communicate with people better and what to expect.”

Dieken – “And it’s fun to talk about, like there are people that I want to be in ensembles with next semester. Then you can kind of configure what would sound good and who do you like to work with, because we already know the returning seniors, so that’s really fun. It’s fun to work with people. I haven’t worked with Ryan or Audrey before last year at all or this year.”

Perpich – To the juniors: first concert, obviously is in the rearview mirror. Second concert, tomorrow, how do you feel going into that?
Morimoto – “I’m very nervous because we’re the opening act.”

Sullivan – “I’m not as nervous. I was really nervous for our first one, and I feel like I got over a lot of that stage fright, because I don’t know, I feel like the Perpich community is pretty tight and I just know it’s gonna be okay. Where as the first one I was kind of all over the place.”

Morimoto – “Yeah, every ensemble is great and talented and really cool to watch.”

Perpich – And you’ll really get to enjoy the full concert because your set will be over, so that’s nice.
Morimoto – “True. It’s really fun because we all watch. In the music theory room, they have this huge monitor and people watch the concert and they’re so supportive and encouraging of each other.”

Christiansen – “We’re not allowed to go in the Performance Hall.”

Sullivan – “Kevin and James make it feel very official because they’re really specific in not having anyone outside of the music department in the back hallway during the concert, which I always think is really funny, cause we’re all really chill about it, and then Kevin and James are like, no.”

Flug – “There is something nice about having your own space, though, like a cool backstage area; it just makes it feel like a lot more fun and official.”

Morimoto – “And nervousness when you’re in the green room, watching your friends on stage, and you’re about to go next, because we go into the green room for the last song.”

Perpich – I suppose part of that, too, is setting you up for a professional setting going forward. Anything else that you want to tell me or you want me to include that I haven’t prompted or asked about?
Sullivan – “I think Perpich is really good at preparing us for a life outside of Perpich that we do pursue music. Which I just think is so cool because, I mean, we can go to these other high schools and they will teach us things but Perpich readies us for a future in music.”

Morimoto – “I have a friend who might apply here next year. He was flabbergasted when he went to see the concert. He went to see the first one and he was just amazed. He was really surprised that it was rock or jazz or whatever, and it’s very student directed.”